Lake Helen, ‘Gem of Florida,’ divided over proposed cell tower

Nothing in this small city — the water tower, church steeples, not even the tallest trees — would come close to the height of a proposed cellphone tower.

By Mark Harpermark.harper@news-jrnl.com

LAKE HELEN — Nothing in this small city — not the water tower, not the church steeples, not even the tallest trees — would come close to reaching the height of a controversial cellphone tower that’s been proposed.The Volusia County Council is scheduled to determine the fate of the 185-foot tower just beyond the city limits on Sept. 26. The county’s Planning and Land Development Regulation Commission voted unanimously last month to support the proposal.Most residents agree improved cell-phone coverage is needed, but they are divided over its proposed location: just southeast of the Interstate 4 interchange with Orange Camp Road.“It’s not a NIMBY thing — not in my backyard,” said longtime resident Lewis Long, an opponent. “That’s our front yard.”The tower is proving divisive in a 125-year-old city where it’s not unusual to see people on horseback along the sides of its main streets. But its backers, including City Commissioner Vernon Burton, downplay concerns that it will create an eyesore at the entrance to the city.At the one convenience store downtown, the Kangaroo Express, Burton said he asked people whether they thought a nearby water tower represented blight. They hadn’t even noticed it.“If a water tower can disappear from your vision, a tower that’s right in front of you, ... it’s not going to impact the social order,” Burton said.Mercury Towers LLC of Winter Park has applied to Volusia County to erect the tower, which would be used by Verizon Wireless, AT&T and possibly other carriers to improve coverage in Lake Helen, Victoria Park and that stretch of I-4.Documents describe a single pole painted white to blend in with the sky. Federal Aviation Administration rules require it to have a red beacon atop to alert aircraft.The company wants to place the tower on land owned by DeLand attorney Alex Ford and his family. Ford is also acting as the attorney for the project.A special exception from the county is needed because of the tower’s height and location on land zoned for agriculture. The county’s planning staff recommended approval.In a letter of support, Peter Nason, a senior design engineer for Verizon, wrote: “It was found through customer complaints, drive testing and coverage simulations that the area in and around Lake Helen is lacking sufficient wireless coverage needed to provide an acceptable level of service to our customers.”But Lake Helen City Administrator Kent “KC” Cichon wrote a letter strongly opposing it.“(The city and its residents) have fervently protected its character and quality of life,” Cichon wrote to the county. “This proposed communications tower is threatening to destroy what many generations have fought to preserve for so long.”A couple of weeks later, the City Commission voted 3-2 to rescind the letter, with Commissioner Burton calling it inappropriate and inaccurate. Mayor Buddy Snowden and Vice Mayor Ann Robbins, opponents of the tower, backed Cichon.More City Commission debate is expected at a 6 p.m. meeting Thursday.Robert Feather, who moved to Lake Helen in 2000, was stunned by the commission’s decision to rescind Cichon’s letter.“It’s not called the Gem of Florida for nothing,” Feather said of Lake Helen. “We all need to do all we can to preserve it.”Added Marcia Lenninger, who co-owns the 1886 Edgewood home: “(The tower) is gonna be a huge monstrosity. I think it alters the historic integrity of Lake Helen.”Commissioner Burton and others disagree. In fact, the commissioner said the city has courted cell-phone tower companies in recent years because coverage is so poor.Eight of the homeowners nearest to the proposed tower signed waivers supporting it. Dorothy Jones’ husband Alton signed the waiver and she spoke in favor of the tower at the county’s planning commission meeting.“If the lights go out or there’s a fire, the only thing to back me up is my cellphone,” she said. “It works when it wants to.”Lambert Johnson said the neighborhood is a “dead zone” for cell phones and the tower is a necessity.Ford, the land owner and attorney, said the tower’s merits shouldn’t come down to how many people want it or oppose it.“This is not a popularity contest,” he said. “The people in this area, the ones most affected by it, they want it.”